Is Holton-Arms the most rigorous school in the state of Maryland?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have not read this string but never imagined I would see Holton and most rigorous in the same sentence. Are they marketing gurus now?

NP. Why do you say this? Is Holton not academically challenging? We’re applying to the lower school and thought it was supposed to be excellent. Can you say more?

Not PP, but the academic challenge is only part of the reason my DD attends Holton. DH and I also want her to have a well-rounded educational experience (I'm certainly not saying that many other area schools don't provide this as well) which includes travel, community service, practical hands-on experiences and engaging classroom lessons.

I'm not from this area so the "prestige" of one school over another means little to me. Lower school DD (who REALLY doesn't care about a school's reputation at her age) instantly felt a sense of belonging at Holton and was singularly focused on it after her first visit.

To me, an abundance of academic rigor doesn't automatically equate to being "the best". I want DD to love (or at least really like) her school experience. DD went to Holton from public school knowing no one. I was tired of WEEKS of standardized testing, crowded classrooms and worksheets that felt more like busy work. I don't care if DD always has the highest scores or if she attends a college that doesn't impress our friends. I want her to learn about herself, other people and the world so when she graduates she feels a sense of accomplishment, purpose and excitement about how she can change the world.

Time will tell if that will happen but she's certainly off to a great start at Holton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have not read this string but never imagined I would see Holton and most rigorous in the same sentence. Are they marketing gurus now?

NP. Why do you say this? Is Holton not academically challenging? We’re applying to the lower school and thought it was supposed to be excellent. Can you say more?

Not PP, but the academic challenge is only part of the reason my DD attends Holton. DH and I also want her to have a well-rounded educational experience (I'm certainly not saying that many other area schools don't provide this as well) which includes travel, community service, practical hands-on experiences and engaging classroom lessons.

I'm not from this area so the "prestige" of one school over another means little to me. Lower school DD (who REALLY doesn't care about a school's reputation at her age) instantly felt a sense of belonging at Holton and was singularly focused on it after her first visit.

To me, an abundance of academic rigor doesn't automatically equate to being "the best". I want DD to love (or at least really like) her school experience. DD went to Holton from public school knowing no one. I was tired of WEEKS of standardized testing, crowded classrooms and worksheets that felt more like busy work. I don't care if DD always has the highest scores or if she attends a college that doesn't impress our friends. I want her to learn about herself, other people and the world so when she graduates she feels a sense of accomplishment, purpose and excitement about how she can change the world.

Time will tell if that will happen but she's certainly off to a great start at Holton.

I totally agree with PP and I have a current high school student as well as a grad from Holton. It's very challenging but that's just one reason we send our daughter there. The faculty are wonderful and my daughter feels very connected to them, which allows her to take risks and continue growing as a student.

Don't listen to people who say things like "I never imagined I would see Holton and most rigorous in the same sentence" - they clearly have an agenda.

[Anonymous]

No way, OP. You must be joking (unless you are excluding public schools) - RM/IB/Blair magnet, followed by PHS magnets, W schools... then after that people can argue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have not read this string but never imagined I would see Holton and most rigorous in the same sentence. Are they marketing gurus now?

NP. Why do you say this? Is Holton not academically challenging? We’re applying to the lower school and thought it was supposed to be excellent. Can you say more?

Not PP, but the academic challenge is only part of the reason my DD attends Holton. DH and I also want her to have a well-rounded educational experience (I'm certainly not saying that many other area schools don't provide this as well) which includes travel, community service, practical hands-on experiences and engaging classroom lessons.

I'm not from this area so the "prestige" of one school over another means little to me. Lower school DD (who REALLY doesn't care about a school's reputation at her age) instantly felt a sense of belonging at Holton and was singularly focused on it after her first visit.

To me, an abundance of academic rigor doesn't automatically equate to being "the best". I want DD to love (or at least really like) her school experience. DD went to Holton from public school knowing no one. I was tired of WEEKS of standardized testing, crowded classrooms and worksheets that felt more like busy work. I don't care if DD always has the highest scores or if she attends a college that doesn't impress our friends. I want her to learn about herself, other people and the world so when she graduates she feels a sense of accomplishment, purpose and excitement about how she can change the world.

Time will tell if that will happen but she's certainly off to a great start at Holton.

I was just about to post something like this after reading this thread. Well said, PP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is obviously posted by the Holton communications staff. Ridiculously transparent marketing ploy.

I'm currently looking at Holton and the "Big 3," and having met the leadership and admissions staff at Holton, I'd put the odds of that at 0.000000001%. (Same with the other schools - the notion that any of these schools would be starting threads on DCUM is ridiculous.) The OP is asking a legitimate question, and for people who might not know all about Baltimore privates and the MCPS magnets, I could see why someone would come to that conclusion. I personally don't think Holton is most "rigorous" when you factor in Blair SMAC and RMIB, but I think it might be a better overall educational environment when you factor in emotional/social development and sense of community.

[Anonymous]

I laugh when people think public could possibly be more difficult than elite private

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I laugh when people think public could possibly be more difficult than elite private

I laugh at people that abuse the word "elite."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No way, OP. You must be joking (unless you are excluding public schools) - RM/IB/Blair magnet, followed by PHS magnets, W schools... then after that people can argue.

LOL

MCPS grading system: 79.5 and a 89.5 = A for the semester.

MCPS also bumps up AP and honors an entire extra point. So you can get the grades above and pull out a 5.0 for the class?

MCPS offers freshman AP's to bump up their GPA's even more. What they don't post are the AP testing grades. Who scored what on those AP exams?

MCPS has no finals to take - kids were bombing them so they removed them instead of tried to figure out what the problem was

Sounds so intense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I laugh when people think public could possibly be more difficult than elite private

I laugh at people that abuse the word "elite."

The funny thing is that I've never met anyone affiliated with Holton who would say something like that - these threads often seem to have people unaffiliated with a school making throw-away and obnoxious comments like that, thereby reflecting poorly on a community that they have nothing to do with. I've found that the experience of visiting schools is often night and day compared to what you'd expect if you only read comments like this from DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No way, OP. You must be joking (unless you are excluding public schools) - RM/IB/Blair magnet, followed by PHS magnets, W schools... then after that people can argue.

The OP asked if it was the most rigorous SCHOOL.

You are comparing tiny specialized programs with about 100 or less kids which are selected out of 50,000 kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way, OP. You must be joking (unless you are excluding public schools) - RM/IB/Blair magnet, followed by PHS magnets, W schools... then after that people can argue.

The OP asked if it was the most rigorous SCHOOL.

You are comparing tiny specialized programs with about 100 or less kids which are selected out of 50,000 kids.

So, answer to OP's question is absolutely NOT.

[Anonymous]

Is OP still out there? this thread started in 10/14.....

[Anonymous]

It is the most elite and yes, the most rigorous. Public schools have to take everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is the most elite and yes, the most rigorous. Public schools have to take everyone.

We can't let that happen right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I laugh when people think public could possibly be more difficult than elite private

I laugh at people that abuse the word "elite."

The funny thing is that I've never met anyone affiliated with Holton who would say something like that - these threads often seem to have people unaffiliated with a school making throw-away and obnoxious comments like that, thereby reflecting poorly on a community that they have nothing to do with. I've found that the experience of visiting schools is often night and day compared to what you'd expect if you only read comments like this from DCUM.

+1 It's even worse in the college thread.